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Chapter Thirty-Eight
Cash
“What’s next? Sprinkles?” I asked Danny as I studied the lumpy masterpiece on his kitchen counter.
“This is the ugliest cake I’ve ever seen.” Danny sounded somewhere between horrified and impressed at our efforts.
“Hey, don’t insult our baking.” Laughing, I bumped his shoulder. Cake was outside my usual wheelhouse of breakfast foods, sandwiches, and grilled meat, but I’d been game for following the instructions on the boxed mix we’d picked up a few days earlier at that store. Each of the layers had risen differently, resulting in a cake that listed precariously to one side with a pronounced hump to the middle, but a thick layer of frosting at least made it look edible. “And you like mismatched homely things. The cake goes with your dog.”
“Linus takes exception to that, thank you very much.” Danny glanced at the corner of the kitchen, a sunny spot probably intended for a breakfast nook but currently occupied by Linus perched atop a dog bed that was more throne than resting place. The dog watched us intently, having only reluctantly allowed Danny to set him down while cooking. Linus hadn’t warmed up much to me, but the way he guarded over Danny was adorable, as was the way Danny stuck up for the creature. He gave the dog a silly look before reaching for the large canister of sprinkles he’d added to the cart. “And maybe some sprinkles will help the cake. Rainbow sprinkles cover a multitude of sins.”
“Yup.” I nodded, unable to hide my grin. Simply watching him made me happy. The kitchen was a mess, but baking a birthday cake with Danny was a level of domestic fun I’d never thought to achieve.
“What?” Danny must have picked up on my dopey expression because he frowned. “More cake batter on my face?”
“Nah.” I gave him a fast kiss before burying my face in his soft hair. It had been over a week since the attempted attack on him, but sometimes I still had to hold him close, remind myself he was indeed safe and sound now. Funny how simply the scent of his shampoo was enough to calm me back down. “Just thinking how you’re cute.”
“I am.” Wriggling against me, Danny preened then pursed his mouth. “Cute but nervous. Why am I nervous? This isn’t a big deal.”
“Maybe it is to you.” I shrugged as he covered the cake with an alarming number of sprinkles. If I were honest, this little gathering had me on edge too. I wanted to make a good impression in a way I’d seldom concerned myself with before.
“Yeah. It is a big deal to me.” Danny added even more sprinkles across the top of the cake before stepping back and resting his head on my shoulder. “Feels like I’ve unlocked another level of adulting. The boyfriend plus hosting guests achievement.”
“And you’re doing great.” I tilted his head back for a soft kiss to remind him of how we’d spent his birthday morning lazing around in bed until we remembered about the cake. As usual, I’d intended the kiss to distract and soothe Danny, but I was the one breathing fast and hard-pressed to remember my own name when the security monitor on the counter beeped.
“Darn. I want more of that, but it’s Duncan with the food.” Danny gave me one more fast kiss before scooping up the dog and going to greet Duncan, who’d arrived with several bags of tacos and assorted sides. We took the food out to the tables near the pool. I’d had a follow-up doctor visit the day before and had a nifty waterproof bandage to cover my healing wound, which was well on its way to being simply another scar. Harley and Danny’s makeup artist friend, her teenage kids, and her husband came while we were still setting up the food.
The teenagers didn’t wait for introductions before they were in the water, but everyone else made pleasant small talk while we dug into the food. I hung back, enjoying watching Danny and his dog at the center of the action, laughing with Gloria and her husband, gleefully taking teasing from Duncan and Harley on the shape of the cake.
“Danny seems happy,” Duncan observed as he came to take a seat next to me on the patio. His plate was loaded with food, and his smile was considerably easier than it had been the last time I’d seen him.
“I think he is.” Turning toward the table where Danny was holding court, I watched him more closely. His eyes were twinkling, and his laugh sounded genuine, but to me, Danny’s happiness showed more in the way he never stopped moving, hands gesturing, body wriggling, feet tapping. He was his typical ball of energy, but he seemed more settled, less like he was fighting that part of himself. “Hope so, at least.”
